Fulton girls basketball loses to Hermann in Montgomery County invitational

No. 7 seed Fulton girls basketball took on No. 2 seed Hermann in the first game of the Montgomery County R-II Varsity Basketball Invitational Monday night in Montgomery City. The Hornets fell 56-44 to the Bearcats.

Fulton's Kier Henderson scored 11 points, while Jayna Hedgpath and Kenzi Washington (off the bench) chipped in nine points each.

"Played a much better first 12-13 minutes," Fulton coach Matt Wilbers said. "End of second quarter, we let up a little bit and let them back in to take the lead before the half.

"Second half, we struggled to hit shots, and Hermann came out hot from the 3-point line. Did some good things to keep it within a couple possessions, but we continue to see our need to develop a rotation and run our sets better.

"Tons of great things to build on, but we still have to improve before we start winning close games against tough teams."

However, the Hornets won their home opener 41-29 against Belle last Tuesday.

Fulton's offense was led by Henderson with 11 points and the Hedpath twins (Jayna and Samantha), who each scored 10 points. Eight of the Hornets' 10 players involved in the contest scored.

"Progressively got better as the night went on handling the pressure and made better decisions," Wilbers said. "Really proud of our depth stepping up and our ability to make better as time went on rather than showing our your and crumbling under pressure."

The No. 7 seed Hornets (1-2) will want to play as they did against Belle, when they face No. 3 seed Mexico (0-2) in a consolation bracket semifinal of the Montgomery County R-II Varsity Basketball Invitational at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Montgomery County Middle School's gym in Montgomery City.